Insecticide



" mama Feb. 20, ms

UNITED I INSECTICIDE V Henry J. Reynolds, Sumner. Wash.

No Drawing. Application NovemberB, 194i, Berial NO. l'fll 7 Claims. (Cl. 187-24) I This invention relates to an insecticide and more especially to an activated and stabilized insecticide containing rotenone and rotenone-like substances and a method of making the same.

A purpose of the invention is to provide a concentrated insecticide in the form of a paste which is practical, economical, stable and dependable and which can be applied with safety both'to the user and the crops which it is sought to protect. 1

With this'and other objects in view, the invention embraces broadly the concept of providing a concentrated insecticide in paste form which employs a finely ground root of a fish poisoning plant containing rotenone and rotenone-like substances as the active principl and which contains a' resinocellulosic material prefvent is added to this solution. This liquid phase is then added to the dry mixture of finely ground root and wood flour and the insredients are mixed until a homogenous paste results. The product is then ready to be packaged.

More specifically, in preparing the concentrated insecticide a rctenone-bearing root of a fish poisoning plant such as Derris, Lonchocarpus, Tephrosia, Mundulea is selected and finely around.

The selected root may contain 5% rotenone and rotenone-like substances such as desuelin tephrosin and toxicorol and certain sums, resins'and glucosides resembling saponins. The use of rotenone and rotenone-like substances in their natural complexes has been found to be advantageous because it is the most stable iorm of these compounds. Moreover even 'the materials containing no insecticidal properties are utilised for the saponins are well, known emulsifying and wetting agent; and the resins both in the root and the selected wood fiour act as stabilizer and resistors. The efiectiveness oi' the insecticide is also increased by the fibers present in both the root and the flour as they'act as carriers (or the V active principles.

The resinocellulosic material a drywocd flour and preferably the fiour from kiln dried wood of the Douglas fir Pseudotsuaa tazifolia. In addition to the advantages previously mentioned, it has been found that the wood ficur it added in the roper proportions also acts asa synergist in the presence or the active principles. This action not nly reduces the necessary concentration of toxic material but prolongs the tcrpor of the insects that do not receive a sufilcient amount of the insecticide'to produce death. The addition of this material, therefore, sreatly increases the efilciency of the insecticide.

The extraction of the active principles is insured by the presence in the insecticide of a solvent ior these complexes. It has been found that pine oil, acetone and some of the higher ketones such as methyl-isobutyl ketone and methyl-n-amyl ketone are especially suitable for this purpose.

It is also highly desirable to apply the rotenone ina suitable petroleum distiilaic since such material approaches an ideal contact agent. However, to prevent precipitation oi the rotenone and rotenone-like substances it has been found necessary to add an ester oi sulfonated bicarboxylic acid as an accessory solvent. In practice, a dioctyl ester oi sodium suli'osucclnate is added. This accessory solvent makes it possible to provide a stable solution oi the active principles in the petroleum oil which will not precipitate when the concentrate is diluted with water for sprayins.

tion, the following formula prepared by the process previously described may be employed i Percent by eisht g w Finely ground rotenone boarlns root (5% rotenone) 20 Dry iir wood flour. (200-350 mesh) 20 Pine oil 20 A dioctyl ester of sodium suliosuccinate"..- 5 Petroleum distillate The concentrated insecticide disperses readily in water producing a ilnely divided emulsionwhlch breaks on application leaving a good de-v maximum dilution oi one part in tour hundred employed maybe D parts. It has been round, however, that dilu- As a more'specific illustration of the inven:

The proportion of toxic material calls tor a- 2 emons tions of one part in a thousand parts is eflective against many insects even when applied under field conditions. It is significant that efiective sprays have been prepared i'rom this paste having a rotenone content rg from i-saooo to 1-1.00,000.' Apparently, rotenone applied in this manner is nearly three hmes as eflective as in the methods previously used. This eflectiveness is undoubtedly due to a large extent to the synergistic action of the addedwood flour.

While for purposes of illustration only one method of combining the ingredients which form the concentrated insecticide has been it is obvious that variations may he made in this process without depafiing from the spirit of the invention. Iidoreover, the inventive concept in cludes changes in the proportions of the meredients which are added to form the insecticide.

I claim:

1. A concentrated insecticide in dilutable paste form comprising a finely ground root or a fish poisoning plant containing as much as 5% rotenone and other active principles, 8. methyl isobutyl ketone for extracting the active principles, a petroleum distillate to serve as a contact agent, the dioctyl sodium ester of sulfosuccinlc acid to prevent precipitation oi the active principles, and a resino-cellulosic wood flour, said finely ground root and wood dour being present in substantially equal quantifies by weight.

2. A concentrated insecticide in dilutable paste form comprising a finely ground root or a fish poisoning plant containing as much as 5% 1'0- tenone and other active principles, a methyl-namyl ketone for extracting the active principles, the petroleum distillate to serve as a contact agent, the dioctyl sodium ester of sulfosuccinic acid to prevent precipitation of the active principles, and a resino-cellulosic wood flour, said finely ground root and wood flour being present in substantially equal quantities by weight.

3. A concentrated insecticide in dilutable paste form comprising a finely ground root of a fish poisoning plant containing as much as 5% so tenone and other active principles, a solvent for extracting the active principles, a petroleum distillate to serve after application as a contact agent, the dioctyl ester of sodium suiiosucclnate to prevent precipitation of the active principles, and a resino-celhdosic wood flour, said finely round root and wood flour being present in sub stantially equal proportions hy weight.

d. A concentrated insecticide in dilutshie form comprising a finely ground root or a iinh poisoning plant containing as much as his so tenone and other active principles, as soivent ior extracting the active principles, as petroiemn dis tillate to serve as a contact agent, the dicetyi ester of sodium suliosuccinic acid to prevent a cipitation of the active principles, and aresin cellulosic flour formed from the wood of t e Douglas fir, said finely ground root and wood iiour being present in substantially e uni proportions by weight.

5. is concentrated insecticide in dilutahie paste form comprising a finely ground root oi oi poisoning plant containing as much as 53% rotenone and other active principles, a pine oil for extracting the active principles, or petroleum distillate to serve as a contact agent, a dioctvi ester oi sodium sulfosuccinate to prevent precipitation or the active principles and a resino-celluiosic flour made from the kiln dried wood of the Douglas fir as a synergist, said wood flour and group root being added in substantiaiiy equal proportions by weight.

d. A concentrated insecticide, in, the form oi a homogeneous paste, said insecticide being active when made into sprays having a rotenone content ranging as high as 1 part in some to Mimi)! parts of spray, said paste consisting oi approximately the following proportions by weight:

Percent Finely ground rotenone hearing root con taining as much as 5% rotenone 2d Dry fir wood flour (200-350 mesh) 2Q Pine oil so A dioctyl ester of sodium sulfosuccinate 5 Petroleum distillate 36 contact agent, a, dioctyl ester oi 'scduim chirosuccinic acid to prevent precipitation of the so: tive principles, and a resino-celinlosic. wood.

hour, said finely ground root and wood dour being present in substantiallyeoual proportionsioy weight.

' HENRY J. 

